The beauty and the beasts of Harar, Part 2

FEB 23 — Due to negative stereotypes of hyenas conjured by cartoons and movies, I always thought that they were nasty and ugly-looking beasts. Surprisingly, they looked cute and adorable, especially their ears. They were round, fluffy and I assumed soft to the touch, not unlike the pandas’. Their spotted hairy coats looked clean and resembled those of tortoise-shell cats.

Balai and Solomon returned but they were not alone. They were followed by a pack of bigger hyenas. The hyenas were surprisingly a somber lot as none of them cackled as I thought they would. I guess feeding is serious business when it comes to the hyenas that have come to depend on the locals to fill their stomachs every day.

Solomon then took a weaved basket filled with long strips of raw red meat and sat cross-legged in the middle of the feeding site. The hyenas definitely knew the feeding protocol as none of them came rushing after the basket.

Solomon carefully balanced a strip of meat on a stick, called out a name and then handed it out. One hyena approached him cautiously and then as quick as lightning, snapped the meat away and chowed it down. He repeated this with the other hyenas until all of them were being fed. Sometimes, things would get a little bit out of control as one or two alpha hyenas turned greedy and tried to steal meat from the basket, only to be promptly chastised by Solomon with a loud spank on their haunches.

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the image of a man spanking a hyena like a misbehaving child. I must say that such taming technique is by far more endearing than a whip used by circus folks.

It is also times like this when the cynicism in me vanished as I see the interaction and harmony between men and beasts.

Solomon then tried to spice up the feeding spectacle by feeding the hyenas directly from his mouth. This pleased the tourists a lot as they gaped and awed over it. The tourists were encouraged to do the same, guided carefully by Solomon. While only a few managed to brave it, others changed their minds at the very last second.

I personally didn’t try it, not because of fear. I was simply savouring the moment and for some reason, I was completely engrossed with my own thoughts to even notice how close I was to the hyenas and two had in fact brushed against my legs.

It was a chilling experience, sometimes I would wonder whether the hyenas might go on a wild rampage, but most of the time, just touched by the thought that human beings and wild animals can co-exist in harmony together, just the way nature has intended. I had tears brimming in my eyes.

The tears didn’t last long because unfortunately, this practice is now very much tourist-orientated.

Once every last strip of meat had been devoured by the hyenas, an overweight bald man stepped in to replace Solomon. For added value, the man gave several performances to demonstrate his chivalry and dominance over the hyenas, much to my disgust although to the delight of many other. He was forcing one of the hyenas to lie on the floor so that he could sit on it. In my mind, I thought there was no chivalry at all since the hyenas were all fed by then.

Adding salt to injury, in the middle of his performance, his mobile phone in his pocket went off and he answered it with a great sense of importance. For me, it just ruined the whole thing because then, it just proves how men will always want to dominate things. It also made a mockery out of the whole ritual by disturbing the elements of what had supposed to be a traditional practice in tune with nature. The co-existence and co-dependency between human beings and animals are being tossed out in the name of power and greed.

We left the site before the “show” ended in protest, believing that as tourists, we all have some level of responsibility. There are times when we should encourage the co-dependency and interaction between human beings and animals in order to preserve the latter’s existence. There are others when we shouldn’t and it was clear to me that the act of dominance and manipulation of animals by man just for the sheer pleasure of it is not one of them.

In the end, although disappointed by how the feeding had ended, I went home with a comforting thought. It is not often when we are touched by the act of human beings but sometimes that rare moments do come and it did come for me. When it comes, savour it and take the moment to see, listen and feel it with your heart. I didn’t even take any photos but what I saw that night will remain with me for as long as I live.

The author spent one year in Ethiopia and hated it in the beginning. She eventually learned to appreciate the country despite initial culture shocks and daily struggle to fan off stares by both men and women.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.